Leadership
What I Learned at the Tennessee Aquarium
Last Monday we took Eyasu and Abreham to the Tennessee Aquarium. Eyasu loved the penguins and Abreham loved looking at the fish. We had a great time. However, I couldn’t help but notice some things beyond the animals, fish, and birds …
1. Great environments attract crowds.
Downtown Chattanooga used to be a rough place and definitely not a place for families. Through visionary leadership and bold leadership the aquarium was planned and built. Downtown Chattanooga began transforming into a pro-family, pro-business, pro-community environment. It is a case of “if you build it, they will come.” However, I think it is more a case of if you build the right environment they will come. Families want safe, fun, clean places to go. Kids want to discover new things. Businesses want to be well located. The aquarium helped create perfect conditions for these things to occur.
As I think about the church, I believe strongly that the un-churched are open to a safe, welcoming place to hear about biblical truth in understandable ways. They want to explore and discover without fear of condemnation and rejection.
On the other side, the past 8 years have shown me that active Christians want a place to bring or invite their un-churched friends to attend. They want to bring people to church and help them begin steps of faith.
Like the leaders who brought the aquarium to Chattanooga, we in the church must constantly evaluate how to create environments that address the spiritual “itch” of our culture, bringing God’s truth to people who are searching for it.
2. Great service helps a crowd become committed.
The aquarium staff and volunteers are well-trained and generally proud of their work, proud of their mission, and focused on the people that come. One lady shared with me some “insider” knowledge about when they fed the sharks because she wanted to maximize my experience (I’m sure she shared it with others too). The staff took note that we had young children and offered special assistance and help. The result this “above and beyond” service? People keep coming back and they tell others about their experience. In other words, they become more than a crowd … they become committed. I talked with one patron who has season passes! I mean seriously, how much fish can you take? But it’s not just about fish. It’s about a positive experience created by an attractive environment that is staffed by passionate people.
What makes a church effective is so much more than good music, good programs (or ministries), or good preaching. Ultimately, it is people who touch and impact other people. In Acts, God always worked through people to impact other people. The result? A crowd was attracted and many became committed to Christ.
3. Don’t underestimate the power and potential of volunteers.
I was amazed at how many volunteers the aquarium used. They were everywhere and doing a lot of jobs that you would think “deserved a pay check.” But apparently, the aquarium is able to recruit and deploy volunteers, and the quality of the experience does not suffer … in fact, it is enhanced.
The church over the years has gravitated more and more to letting the so-called “professional” Christians do the work. Lay people think they aren’t qualified and staff members think they are the only ones who can do it and do it right. But when you read Ephesians 4:11-12 you realize the church is to be run and built by its members who are equipped and empowered by its staff! If a big fish tank through great leadership and an exciting vision, can empower volunteers so effectively … just think what the church that Jesus Christ founded can and should do through its people!?!?!
Staff Transitions: Groups
One of my great friends and partners in ministry, Jay Ashlock, has decided to step down as our Pastor of Discipleship/Small Groups. After seeking God’s wisdom, he felt the best move for him and his family at this time in their lives would be to move out of vocational ministry and back into public education.
Jay will be missed on our staff. Personally, I will miss his friendship, advice, and encouragement that I was blessed to enjoy almost daily for over a year. His love for Jesus, passion for Rock Bridge, compassion for people, and incredible wisdom bring much glory to God. But Jay will continue to offer himself to God … just on a different platform. He will still serve as a volunteer and be an active part of Rock Bridge.
What is next for Rock Bridge groups and our staff?
We have moved immediately to begin seeking our next Discipleship/Groups Pastor. We have decided to partner with a ministry/church search firm, the Vanderbloemen Search Group, to help us find God’s person for this important position. All resumes will be submitted to them and they will help us identify a final slate of 4-6 candidates to pray over, interview, and hopefully call as our next Discipleship Pastor (email: resumes@vanderbloemensearch.com listing Rock Bridge Community Church).
In the meantime, Megan Pulver (megan@rockbridge.cc) will be the main “go to” and contact person for our groups ministry. Campus Pastors and others on staff will assist her and anyone seeking information about small groups. You can always find group information at lobby spaces before and after our services.
Leadership Ruminations: 2-year Summary
Last week I wrapped up a 2-year journey with other pastors in a group put together by Leadership Network. This type of experience was new to me but something I needed. As I reflect back on the journey, here’s some things that come to mind:
- Leaders must pay attention not only to the organizational health but also the emotional health of the teams they lead.
- Churches must continue to take risks for the sake of the Gospel.
- Pastors must not use “guilt” to motivate and lead their congregations. {Larry Osborne famously calls this “drive-by guiltings“}
- We can’t confuse methodology with theology. Methods will always change while our theology (beliefs) should never change.
- We have to have margin (space) in our lives to be effective. God gave us the Sabbath for a reason. We need margin emotionally, relationally, and in our schedules.
- The financial landscape of America is changed for the foreseeable future. How will this affect giving in the church? It will require more visionary leadership. For example, candidate Barack Obama raised more money than any other presidential candidate in history during the worst recession in recent memory. People will give to causes they believe in … what cause is greater than the cause of Christ?
- Churches must develop new and younger leaders. ”Young eagles” must be allowed to fly. What are we doing to develop the “future” leadership of Rock Bridge?
- Student ministry is perhaps the most difficult “ministry nut” to crack today in the church. Why? Because it is becoming less & less about the program of ministry and more & more about significant relationships facilitated by the ministry with adults and other students {This is our model at RBCC!!}
- Multi-site and multi-venues are here to stay. In a resource challenged world, they are excellent ways to multiple the impact of the church.
- More churches will use the concept “volunteer” staff to meet the demands of ministry. Retirees, college students, interns, and those who have a “passion” to work in the local church will fill these roles as their time allows. Volunteer staff will not be paid in the traditional sense; they will be paid with official positions, positive experiences & compelling ministry opportunities, insider influence, and perhaps even a desk or office or other “perk”.
- As churches grow, the pastor has to lead more and do less.
- We must be comfortable being ourselves, living secure in our identity in Christ.
Whose Approval Am I After?
Let’s face it, we are all approval addicts. We want to be accepted, approved, and validated. The two big questions we must ask are “Where do we go to get the approval we so desperately want?” and “What is the cost of gaining that approval?”
Most of the time we look to other people for this approval and much of the time this will lead us to compromise a conviction, change our beliefs (to fit in), or be manipulated by the fear and insecurity of losing someone’s approval.
The Bible warns in Proverbs 29:25 that “fear of man will prove to be a snare [a trap] but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” In other words, only in God do we find the approval, acceptance, and security our hearts want and need. And the good news is this … that because of Jesus we have God’s approval and acceptance!!
So how does this shake out in our lives?
- It means that we can obsess and stress over what others think about us and therefore, forget what God thinks about us.
- It means criticism must be filtered through God’s Word more than the sting of the critic.
- It means I can labor endlessly in a futile attempt to please everyone or I can rest peacefully in the pleasure of God’s unfailing love.
- It means that sometimes relationships will be lost as you follow God’s leading and pursue His mission.
- It means that your source of approval will ultimately be the authority in your life.
As a young church planter/pastor, many times I stressed over what people thought of me, the sermon, our church, etc. I was easily shaken and upset. People’s opinions & comments were where I sought approval causing me to make some mistakes, forget who I am in Christ, and at times disregard the voice of God.
To overcome this I had to develop some basic principles, and here’s what they are:
- I must preach “the whole counsel of God” and do it “in season and out” which won’t always be popular or well-received.
- I must have sources of wise counsel and accountability in my life whose voices I can trust as either encouragement or constructive criticism (Thankfully, I have incredible Elders, a staff that seeks to hear from God, and a godly wife).
- The bottom line for me is to obey God. Beth & I never would have started Rock Bridge if we took a poll or listened to our critics (and there were/are a lot).
- I will listen to critics and what people have to say, seek to learn, practice humility, but those voices do not have the final say … God does. Therefore, all voices must be filtered by God’s Word, godly counsel, and prayer.
- I will readily admit when I am wrong, sin against another, or make a mistake and seek forgiveness.
- I am who God says I am, period (I Corinthians 15:10).
No Room for Egos
I’ve noticed a trend at Rock Bridge … people with big egos don’t usually stick around at our church. We’ve had lots of people come through our doors hungry for God, for hope, for purpose, for truth, and for a way to serve … and by God’s grace many have found those things through RBCC. However, some people have come to Rock Bridge looking for a way to feed their own ego and they see our church as a way to achieve that goal.
By that I mean they do not want to submit to what God is doing in and through Rock Bridge, but rather they want the church to submit to their particular idea, issue, or pet project as a condition of their membership, service, involvement, or approval. Not that new ideas and initiatives are not welcome (they are), but they first must be filtered through our vision and core values. If it passes the “vision” test, then it must also be the right time in our church’s history, which we discover through prayer and obtaining wise counsel.
So how do you spot an “ego”?
- The person who introduces themselves by giving their extensive resume.
- The person who is quick to point out what they think your church lacks (usually it is something they could provide, but not something God requires).
- The person who wants to jump into leadership right away (or sing a solo) without taking the time to submit, serve, and learn.
- The person who will not listen or take the time to learn what God is uniquely up to in your church … because they believe they are the “magic bullet” for your church’s needs.
- The person who think it should be “one way” (i.e. “their way”) and gets upset, threatens to quit, or leaves when it is done another way.
“Ego” has been checked and left behind when …
- Their attitude and actions are defined by the question, “How can I help?”
- Told “No” or “Not now”, they submit and exhibit a positive attitude.
- They quietly serve and seek direction from God BEFORE seeking influence, leadership positions, or the “spotlight”.
Seven plus years ago we realized the danger of our “ego” and coined the phrase, “Leave your ego at the door … because ego equals “Edging God Out”. I’m thankful we did so we could hear God speak and submit to His voice, not our fleshly preferences, not-found-in-the-Bible traditions, or causes motivated by our pride. This means we sometimes have to say “No” to people whose ideas and suggestions are not born through prayer and are not motivated by God’s glory. This means they usually don’t stay around for long.
Decisions That Made a Difference
As we approach our 7-year anniversary at Rock Bridge, I was reflecting on some decisions that we’ve made that I think have made a big, long-term difference in the church we are today and the direction we are headed.
1) The pastor needs to spend the vast majority of his time in the two areas of message preparation (studying, praying, etc.) AND vision (casting, clarifying, guarding, etc.).
It is so easy to get bogged down on urgent matters and the details that occur daily in the life of a church; however, the long term health of the church comes from a hot from God vision and passionate, Word-centered preaching. From the beginning our church freed me to focus on these areas and challenged me to grow in them. To this day, our elders will frequently ask me, “How is your study time?” They hold me accountable and encourage me to spend my time in these two areas.
2) Tearing down the distinction of “clergy”, avoiding the temptation to let the “staff run everything”, and challenging people to serve, get involved, and take an “owners” interest in the church.
While there are certain matters that the staff has to oversee and be directly involved in, I can honestly say that we’ve made very few decisions where multiple members were not involved and we’ve NEVER done any ministry initiative that has not been highly dependent on volunteers and the support of the congregation. Volunteers oversee our budget and run our core ministries. Our elders are all members who give extra time to shepherd the church, help steward resources, and seek God’s wisdom for major decisions. The result is that I think the people of Rock Bridge have a stake in Rock Bridge. They care more, give more, and serve more.
Even the questions and criticisms we receive on staff, most of the time are asked because the people of Rock Bridge care and want this church to be the best for Jesus in this community.
3) We have laid aside personal preferences and egos to change the question from “What do I want from my church?” to “What does Jesus want from HIS church?”
In our core team meetings we had two sayings, “The Bible is our only tradition.” and “Leave your ego at the door (because ego equals “edging God out”).” This attitude allows us to have a lot of clarity when discussing issues because let’s be honest most issues gets discussed from our personal perspectives and prejudices. When the Bible is the backdrop and humility is the prevalent attitude, God can get a lot of traction from the church.
4) We’ve never been afraid to fail or afraid to change.
By constantly trying to improve and continually evaluating for effectiveness, things tend to move in the right direction.
Additionally, the “risk” (if you can call it that) of failure is acceptable if it is made trying to reach more people for Christ and radically love people.
5) We’ve sought to balance the corporate and personal aspects of the church.
As a church grows there are some natural challenges that occur. You have to add staff. You have to get more organized. You have to have policies and procedures. You have to get multiple phone lines. You have to expand how you communicate. In summary, you have to become more “corporate” or business-like in many of your functions. If you don’t things won’t happen or they won’t happen well. Acts 6:1-7 is a great example of this dynamic at work.
However, at the same time you have to stay personal with people. People still want to talk to a “real live” person. People still need to be visited in the hospital, prayed for, and encouraged. So as the church grows larger it still has to stay personal. The church is not trying to be General Electric but a (growing) family of God.
At Rock Bridge, sometimes we’ve failed in this area but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. We have added some systems and policies that help us operate more efficiently and effectively, but we are always trying to keep things personal, to thank all our volunteers a lot, to care for people in crisis in personal ways, to communicate well, and to really be a spiritual “family” (vs. a business).
This is huge in small towns where some people are suspicious of “big” and worried that they will be forgotten or just a “number”. At Rock Bridge we did not start out big, we started with 25 adults. But we started out loving people like Jesus, and as a result we started growing and getting big. The key is to never quit loving and caring for people as you grow, but to find more effective ways to love and care for more people. I think we’re working hard to do that!!
Proverbs for Life
As I’ve finished up a study of Proverbs, I’ve noticed some pretty amazing stuff regarding just living life. When following these things tend to make life simpler and smoother. These principles are grouped into four (4) main categories …
The Essential Ingredients for Life — these are “gotta have” aspects that we must have in ever-increasing measure
- A healthy view of God — Proverbs calls this the “fear of the Lord” (1:7)
- Integrity (10:9) … it’s important to get there, but get there the right way
- Discipline and the ability to deny immediate pleasure for God’s long-term purpose
- The ability to listen to God
- Wisdom and the desire to learn, grow and be developed
- Love for people & dependability (20:28)
Avoid “stupid” errors – lots of mistakes in life are preventable and avoidable. Common problems come from these common mistakes
- Laziness (22:13)
- Fighting the wrong battles (26:17)
- Impulsiveness and rushing into big decisions (21:5)
- Speaking too much, speaking too soon, speaking w/o thinking … just speaking in general. (15:1-2; 28)
- Violating your organization or team’s “code” or internal “DNA” … some things are off limits, period (22:28)
- Failure to listen to correction
- Don’t self-promote … self-promotion means it is about us rather than Him!! (25:6,27)
The ability to distinguish between God’s part and our part
- We have to be comfortable with uncertainty while living on earth. We must know that victory rests with the Lord, knowing that God conceals matters to guard His glory and keep us walking by faith. However, we can be
- Clear even in the face of uncertainty … VISION gives this clarity and keeps things (and people) moving forward even when things are cloudy (29:18)
- Prepared for whatever God might have planned (19:21; 21:29-31)
Making “wise” decisions — decisions determine the paths we take and the paths we take determine the destinations we reach.
- Seek out wise counsel and listen to voices of “correction”
- Scan the horizon for danger and act with boldness when you see it. (27:12)
- Don’t jump to conclusions when making decisions … usually there is more than meets the eye! (25:8)
Always Room to Improve
A big part of me as a person and a leader is to always ask the question, How can we get better? Where is there room for improvement? These are two questions we’re always asking on staff as we do a weekly review and as we plan ahead. This keeps us from taking things for granted and getting complacent.
Two areas that have really improved at Rock Bridge over the past few months are our pastoral care ministry and our small group connection process. Pastoral Care is how we care for and minister to people in crisis. We have a team of over 100 staff, elders and volunteers that are organized and mobilized. 6 months ago we had just me and some of the our elders … that’s improvement!!
One of our goals for people is to connect them to a small group community. The process of finding a group that meets when you can meet and fits you can be difficult at best. In the past couple of months, we’ve “personalized” the process so that anyone who wants to connect in a group will be personally assisted in the process. Megan Hobby is doing a great job with this! We’re also working to make our Inquirer’s Dinner a better avenue for people to connect in a group. However, we’re excited that we’ve seen 200+ people get in a group since last Spring … that’s improvement!
A few weeks we started working on identifying some other areas we need to improve. While the list could be endless, we’ve been focusing a lot of effort on increasing the amount of intentional prayer over our church. For the past two weeks, I’ve had a group of people meet to pray over me before our services starts and WOW! Alfred Turley is leading this effort and I think we’ll see God’s favor and glory on us in more amazing ways.
We’re also thinking about how we develop leaders at our church. We want to make sure we really do equip, empower, and encourage people to lead others and serve God well. Leadership is one of the “lids” that keeps a church from growing to its potential. We must keep raising up leaders because the “harvest” is so plentiful!!
Stretching Questions
I think there is nothing like the power of a good question … and sometimes it is revealing to ask, “What am I NOT asking?” God has used questions to challenge, convict, and comfort me at times. Here are some questions that have really stretched me, my faith, and my leadership:
- There is a difference between believing in and trusting in God. Is my relationship with God based on belief or trust?
- What decision have been putting off and why?
- Who do I need to ask forgiveness from?
- If Rock Bridge went away, would it be missed in our community? Why or why not?
- What one thing could I do/we do that costs nothing but a little time and effort, but would yield big results? (So many times we only think of big, costly improvements while ignoring the simple, obvious, and effective things we could do immediately.)
- What is God working on in my life right now?
The Big “D”
My trip to Dallas, TX was once again incredible!! What God is doing in churches from Michigan to Kentucky to Nevada to Utah is absolutely amazing. This is a God-ripe time to be alive!! Here’s a couple of highlights:
- Economic Crisis: This got a lot of mileage because of the current trouble in our economy. But Christianity always shines brightest in crisis. Here’s an encouraging reality: President-elect Obama raised more money than any presidential candidate ever, including $150 million in October. People will give to causes they believe in and to big vision. What cause is greater and what vision is grander than what God is doing to redeem His creation?
- Multi-Site: The opportunities for multi-site church are something more and more churches are seizing and seeing God-sized results.
- Leadership & Structure: The thoughts on leadership were so amazing and insightful. Everything from developing future leaders to church communications grabbed my attention.
Here’s the bottom line for me Rock Bridge:
We are living in a time of great opportunity for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In Esther this was called “for such a time as this.” This time requires us to be motivated by God’s heart, led by His Spirit, and steadfast to His Word. We cannot allow our fears, selfish preferences, or lack of faith to drown out the call of God upon our lives. God has promised to “build His church” and we must take Him at His Word by being faithful to His commands to love, serve, go, shepherd, disciple, pray, bear fruit, and bring the Father glory. May our hearts be ripe with expectancy over what God desires to do when His people move with Him!!